Long Shadows at Long Bay

A Table for Two

I've been searching for a beachside restaurant or cafe for ages and finally found one just in time to celebrate our ninth anniversary at Long Bay Restaurant.

Upper Nihotupu Dam track III

Upper Nihotupu Dam track II

Upper Nihotupu Dam track I

A tree fern ready to unfurl...



and a fantail ready to pounce...

Kumeu Show VI

Quite the most unusual classes of crafts ever imagined.



From novelty animals and vehicles from fruit and/or vegetables...



...to "Sand saucer - no sand to show" and "Petal pattern on vaseline covered saucer".

Kumeu Show V

Beautiful blooms, prize squash, juicy jams and giant pumpkins.

Kumeu Show IV

...and sheep racing!

Kumeu Show III

World-championship shearing, trans-Tasman log-cutting...

Kumeu Show II

The poultry strutting their stuff...

Kumeu Show I

This weekend we headed to the Kumeu Agricultural & Pastoral Show - the largest one of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

We arrived just in time for the goats' prizegiving and then nipped backstage to see some of the other animals relaxing after their trips down the catwalk...

Parnell Baths

The 60-metre saltwater pool at Parnell from Dove Myer Robinson Park...

Cap Capricorn

The Cap Capricorn fully loaded at Ports of Auckland...

Chelsea Sugar Refinery

Chelsea Sugar Refinery at Birkenhead - built with 1.5m handmade clay bricks in the 1880s and still supplying Auckland with sugar today.

Cityscape II

The city from the wrong side of the tracks...

Cityscape I

The city from Chelsea Sugar Refinery.

QMII

We had a fantastic view of RMS Queen Mary II in port this morning. So much more elegant with its black hull than all the glaring white cruise ships with their climbing walls.





Here she is in situ - dominating the skyline.

Autumn Sunrise